Automatic perpetual calendar.



BEST AVAILABLE COP? PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905 J. BALLANTYNE.

AUTOMATIC PERPETUAL CALENDAR.

APPLICATION FILED' JUNE 22, 1904.

3 ETSBEBET 1.

James ficmzmime BEST AVAILABLE COPE No. 786,181. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

J. BALLANTYNE. AUTOMATIC PERPETUAL CALENDAR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. 1904. #01331" a sums-sum 2.

/ij/z iizesaea xc z vigg Zg': 444; M v omes \m gne BEST AVAJLABLE COP:-

No. 786,181. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. J. BALLANTYNE.

7 AUTOMATIC PERPETUAL CALENDAR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. 1904.

' XODEL. 3HHEETB-SHEET 3.

z& 17

BEST AVAlLABLE COP\ i UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905 PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC PERPETUAL CALENDAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 786,181, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed June 22, 1904- Serial No. 213,628- (150661.)

To all wit/nu, 7'15 7I'Ml/ 7/ concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES BALLANTYNE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Pe rpetual Calendars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple, durable, and accurate automatic calendar mechanism adapted to be operated by clockwork and to correctly indicate, through a long term of years, the day of the week, the month, and the day of the month, provision being made for the variation of the number of days in the months and for the additional day occurring in each leap-year.

The invention consists in the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents an end elevation of a calendar embodying my invention, a part of the casing being broken away. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 represents asection online 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 represents a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 represents a view similar to a portion of Fig. 6, showing the parts differently related. Figs. 7 and 8 are views similar to Fig. 5, showing difierent stages of the operation. Fig. 9 represents a view similar to the lower portion of Fig. 2, showing certain parts in different positions. Fig. 10 represents a section on line 10 10 of Fig. 9. Figs. 11 and 12 represent views similar to Fig. 10, showing difi'erent'stages of the operation.

In the drawings, a, I), and c are rotary intermittent gear-wheels, to each of whicha step-by-step rotation is imparted, as hereinafter described, said wheels being connected with and imparting movement to suitablyinscribed dials a b 0, one of which shows the names of the days of the week and is termed the Week-day dial, another the numerals of the days of the month and is termed the monthday dial, and the third the names of the months of the year and is termed the month-dial. The gear-wheels a, b c are termed, respectively, the weekday wheel, the month-wheel, and the month-day wheel. The gear-wheels have a common axis of rotation, and the dials are annular and are concentrically arranged. Each gear-wheel has in its perimeter a series of curved recesses 20 and between said recesses radial slots 21, said grooves and slots cooperating with driving members a b 0 Fig. 2, which are mounted on and rotatively engaged with a driving-shaft d, the latter being rotated once in twenty-four hours by suitable clock mechanism. (Not shown.) Each of said driving members comprises acylinder 22, the peripheryof which is formed to enterarecess 20 in one of the gear-wheels, and a tooth or pin 23 projecting outside the eriphery of the cylinder and extending paral el with its axis, the tooth being adapted to enter a slot 21 in the same wheel, as shown in Fig. 6. The driving members a? b c are continuously r0- tated in unison by the shaft (1, and the teeth 23 of said members engaging the slots in the gear-wheels impart step-by-step movements to the said wheels and to the dials engaged therewith, the cylindrical erimeters of the driving members entering t e recesses 20 between the slots of the gear-wheels and preventing rotation of said wheels when the teeth 23 are not in engagement with the slots. The gear-wheels are therefore alternately rotated and locked. The cylinder of each driving member is provided with an opening 24, Figs. 4 and 6, formed to receive" the projecting portions of the accompanying wheel when the latter is being rotated. The week-day wheel a has seven slots 21 and is aflixed to one end of a tubular spindle a to the opposite end of which the inner or week-day dial a is afiixed. Said wheel and dial are therefore moved once in every twenty-four hours by the cooperation with the wheel a of its driving member (1 The month-wheel b has twelve slots 21 and is aflixed to a sleeve b which surrounds and is rotatable on the spindlev and has affixed to its outer end the month-dial, which is of greater diameter than the week-day dial. The month-day wheel c is affixed to a sleeve 0 which surrounds and is rotatable on the 10c sleeve 6 and has aflixed to its'outer end the month-day dial a, which is of greater diameter than the month-dial. The dials are inclosed in a casing e, in the front of which are sight-openings e, arranged to simultaneously expose portions of the three dials. The week-day-wheel-driving member a is affixed rigidly to the driving-shaft. The month-Wheel-driving member I) and the month-day-wheel-driving member 0 are afiixed to a sleeve 25, Fi 4, which is adapted to slide longitudina y on the driving-shaft, so that the teeth 23 of said memhers I) and c are movable into and out of engagement with the month and month-day wheels 6 and c, the said members 6 and 0 being rotatively engaged with the drivingshaft by suitable means, such as studs '26, affixed to the cylinder 22 of the week-daywheel-driving member a, and entering orifices in the cylinder of the month-wheel-driving member b the latter being adapted to slide on said studs. The teeth 23 of the month and month-day-wheel driving members are arranged so that they operate alter nately, one tooth 23 bein out of engagement with the month-whee when the other tooth is in engagement with the month-day wheel, and vice versa. The month-wheel b is provided with twelve slots 21, as shown in Fig. 5, and the month-day wheel 0 is proigided with thirty-one slots, as shown in To the sleeve 25, supporting the driving members b 0 is affixed an arm 29, which 00- operates with an arm 30, aiiixed to the monthday wheel in imparting a partial rotation to the month-day wheel, as hereinafter described. The sleeve 25 is automatically shifted when the month-day wheel 0 is approaching the endof a complete rotation (that is, the position which displays the numeral of thelast day of the month through the sight-opening e) to withdraw the tooth 23 of the driving member 0 from the wheel 0 and to move the tooth 23 of the driving member 6 into position to engage the monthwheel I), the sleeve 25 remaining in this position until the month-wheel has been rotated one step and being then again shifted to restore the tooth of the driving member 0 toengagement with the month-day wheel and remove the tooth of the member I) from engagement with the month-wheel. The means for thus shifting the sleeve 25 are organized to stop the rotation of the monthday wheel automatically on the last day of the month, Whether it be the 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st. The arm 29 on said sleeve acting through the arm 30 on the month-day wheel gives said wheel the necessary additional movement required to indicate the first day of the succeeding month and is adapted to move the month-day Wheel either of the distances required to change from the BEST AVAILABLE com last day of one month to the first day of the next. For example, when the month-day wheel is arrested on February 28 the arm 29 subsequently rotates the wheel four steps, or a distance equalto the length of four numbers, thus causing 29, 30, and 31 to pass the. sight-opening without stopping, the wheel stopping when the numeral 1 1s visible. When the month day wheel is arrested on April 30, the arm 29 subsequently rotates the month-day wheel two steps, and when the monthday wheel is arrested on May 31 the arm 29 subsequently rotates the month day wheel one ste are provided operating 0 y in eap-years to cause the arrest of the'month-day wheel on the 29th of February, the arm 29' subsequently rotating the month-day wheel three steps.

The mechanism employed in this embodiment of iny invention for producing the above-described results will next be described.

To the sleeve 25 are affixed two cams 31 32, which are preferably disks, the outer sides of which are inclined relatively to the axis of the sleeve, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. 33 34 represent angular ears aflixed to opposite sides of -the month-day Wheel 0 and S ecial means having shoulders formed to engage the inclined sides of the said cams, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 9. The ear 33 is located a short distance in advance of the ear 34, as shown in Fig. 3, and the shoulders of the said ears are so spaced apart that they cooperate alternately with the cams 31 32 in shifting the sleeve 25 and the driving members carried thereby. When the month day wheel has indicated 31-, the car 33 acts on-the cam 31 and shifts the sleeve 25 and the driving members I) c and arm 29 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fi 9. The tooth 23 of the month-day-wheedriving member is thus disconnected from said wheel and the tooth 23 of the monthwheel-driving member is moved to position to engage the month-wheel. At the same time the arm 29 is moved into the path of the arm 30 on the month-day wheel and subsequently gives the latter a partial rotation to indicate the first day of the month, as above stated. After the tooth 23 of the month-wheel-drivin member has engaged the month-wheel 211$ imparted a step-by-step movement thereto the car 34 acts on the cam 32 to restore the sleeve 25 and its attachments to the position shown in Fig. 2, so that the step-by-step movements of the month-day wheel by its driver are resumed, the monthwheel being held stationary. The ear 33 is so located on the wheel 0 that it operates only when the month has thirty-one days, additional automatically-operated mechanism being employed to shift the sleeve 25 on the last day of each shorter month, leaving the comlugs 40 and with an additional automatically adjusted lu 41,-'-Fi 5. Whenthe rotationof the mont -day w eel'c and month wheel b brings one of said lugs into alinement with pletion of the rotation of the inonth-day wheel to the arm 29; Said mechanism com;- prises a swinging ear 37, ivoted at 38 tothe month-day wheel andaving at its outer .portion an enlargement'39. The monthwheel is provided with aseries of fourfixed thefenlargement 39,..the lugholdsjfthe en:

-..'-g" la'rgeinent rigidlya ainst the xmonth-day- \vheel and thus rigid y holdsthe pivoted ear I Said ear is located. in advance ofthe fixed; ear33, and whenthus made it acts .,;.-in'the same manner astheear .33 in shifting thetsleeve25 to the positionshownin'Fig. 9.

'lhe said -ear 37 then practically acts as an extension of the car 33, and being located in ad- Vance. of, the ear it "shifts the sleeve gsooncr than the ear-33 alonewould, and the two cars 37 and'33 hold the 'sleeve25 shifted long enough so that the arm 29 acts on' the arm .30 sooner-and longer than would be caused by the ear 33 alone, thereby acting upon the arm 30 so asto rotate the month- 'day wheel two steps when the thirt 'firstday of the month is to be skip ed. j T e lugs 49 are so arranged that-one o saidlugs will cooperate with the enlargement 30.0.n April 30,- another on June 30, another on Septem- -co6peration causing the arm "29 to advance her 30, and the fourth on November 30, such the month-day wheel two' steps. When the pivotedear 37 passes the :earn 31 without "meeting one of the said lugs, the ear yields to. the cam and has no effect thereon. The

adjustable lug 41 cooperates with the enlargemenaon the swinging ear-37 on the last day'of-February, whether said day be the zxthor the 29th. Said'lug is formed on a lethe number of teeth onthe gear 47 is twelve.

ver 43, which is mounted to oscillate on the sleeve If. The lug 41 projects from one end of the lever43 through a slot 44 in the monthwheel-b. The opposite end of the lever has a stud 45,- which enters a cam-groove 4! in a gear-wheel 46,which is mounted to rotate on'a stud aliixed to the month-wheel b and meshes with alixed gear 47, which is mounted on the shaft 11 and is prevented from rotating by a rod 43, Figs. 2 and 5, allixed at one end to said gear and at its other end to the supporting-frame. The gear 46 has a greater number of teeth than the gear 47, the number of teeth on the gear 46 in this embodimentot my invention being sixteemwl iile This variation, together with the form of the cam-groove 4tl,'causes the position of the lug 4| to so change during each rotation of the month-wheel as to secure the above-described result. It will be seen that the rotation of the month-wheel causes.

the gear 46 to revolve stepby step around the lixed gear 47, the. sa d gear 46 hav- BESIT'ALVAILABLE coming, therefore, an intermittent planetary motion, which. causes the cam groove 49 ,gto change the position of the lever 43 and lug 41 from time to time, the extremesof the change being indicated in F' 's. 7 and 8. The arian ement is suchan the usual "osition' of the ug41 is suchth'at' on the 2 8th ayof. February (excepti in a leap-year) the leg 41 will beyadj u'ste as shown in 'Fig. 7 when it cooperates with the enlargement the. f swingingearii'l'immaking thelatter rigid,.the

givethe in(' nth-daywheel a final movement of m'ax'i nuinjextent, the -wheel advaneing" four T steps; In every leap-year the cam-groove 49' shifts the lever 43 so that the lug 41 will be adjusted backwardly, as shown Fig, ,8, so that it will begin to act a da later than when it'is in the ositi'en shown in 7, the inonth- 1- day wheel )eing thus caused to indicated 29 before it-is finally advanced bythearrn-29; The described mechanismis timedso that the j lug 411s 1n position to act. for. three successive years eit er the month-day wheel has-indicated .f} 28 and on'j.-.the..iourtlnyear, jal'tersz'iid wheel has indicated 29. Tlus- 1s jfdr-thef reason? that since the planetary gear-wheel '46 has sixteen tcetlnwhile the sun gear-wheel 47 has buttwelve, attach .revolutionlofthe planet gearavheel-or at the endof eaclrj'eur the planet gear-wheel. is-rotatedfa distance equal'tofour teeth, and attheend of-four years it accordingly makes acorn lete. rotation and the lug 41 is aga n broug it nto the '1 position shown in 8. "The present year,

1904, is a leap-yearfand every fourth year hereafter for nearly two; hundred years will also bealeap-year. It willbeseen,therefore,

that the above-described mechanism provides for the correct automaticoperation of the calendar until A. l); 2100, provided, of 'course,.'the drifing-shaft d be continuously driven at the proper speed.

The month-(la wheel 1: is providel with a segmental flange 52, whieh'aets as a guardor stop to )revent the sleeve 2:) and its attachments rom being moved toward the left from the position shown in Fig. 4' until the wheel,connected driving members having a sliding and rotative engagenu-n't with the shalt,nnd adapted to engage the monthwheel and the nuinlh-dav wheel ulternutely,

an arm 'iaflixed to said connected nu' mbers and adapted to (wept-rate with a. lll'njt'i'lluli on the mouth-day wheel, and means operatedb the rotation of the month-day wheel for'shiiling said driving members and arm;

. 2. An automatic calendar comprising 'a weekday wheel,'a month-wheeland a month:

day wheel, a. driving-shaft engagedwith the I weekday WheeLeOnne-cted driving members slidingly and rotativjelyengaged with the shaft and adapted tofengage 'themonth;

wheel and'th e rnOnth-dav'wheel alternately,

a:- supplemental -monthday wheel-operating arm'eonneeted with said members, and means for shifting the driving "members and arm,

- ,said means including a fixed "or non-adjust- -able ear cairied by the month-day wheel, and

- operating at theolose'of 'a period-of inaxi miim length, a'normally loose ear else carried by the month-day wheel, and a series of lugscan'ied by the month wheel, and adapt ed to 006 erate successively with the said loose mem rat the close of periods of shorter duration.

3. Ali-"automatic calendar comprising a week-day wheel, a-month-wheeland a monthday wheel, a driving-shaft engaged with the week-day wheel, connected driving members slidingly and rotatively engaged with the shaft and ada ted to engage the month wheel vand the mont 1-day wheel alternately, a supplemental month-daywheel operating arm 550 connected with said members, and m ans for shifting the driving members and arm, said means including a. fined or nonedjostabie' ear carried by theknontbdey wheel, and op: 'erating at the cl se ef e per od of maximum length, a normally l()OSG ufiI also carried by the month-day wheel, and a series of ings can ried by the month-wheel and ads :tml to Lil" operate successively with the said pose meniher at the close of varying 'ieriods of shorter 4o duration, one of said lugs-lieing adjustable, and means operated by the rotation of the month-wheel for adjusting said lug.

4. An automatic calendar comprising a week-day wheel, a men tl1-whecl and :1 monthday wheel, a driving-shaft engaged with the weekday wheel, eonneeted-driving members slidingly and rotatively engaged with {he l l l sEsT yAi A LE com shaft, a menth daY-wheel-rotating arin affixed to saidmemoers, a pairof cams also affixed to said members, ears affixed to the month-day wheel and proj eating from oppo-- site sides thereof for engaging said cams and.

shifting the 'said'driving members-and'erni, a-

swin ing'ear oa ied by the month-day wheel and iaving an nlar ement, a seriesbf lugs 'on"t-he'inontli-wheel,ada ted to cooperate successively with-said; en 1rgement; 'one -0f" said ears-being adjiistable,andfmeans'o er adjusting said lug.

atedbv the'rotationaof the month-whee for i I p 6 5.- In tn-automatic calendar,= amontlb.

wheel having'a seriesof lugs oneof-whichis ad ustahlefa' lover carrying saidfad ustahle lug and ada ted to oscdlatennthe'axls of J the month-w reel ,12). fixed gear concentriowit-h the 'axis of the ;month-wheel,=1md ,a planetgearmeshmg with said fixed gear and-rotastud on. the saidlever oneigear having a greater number of, teeth than theother.

' 6. :An. automatic,celendar, comprising a week-day wheel, a month-wheel and a monthdav wheel, shift'eble driving members for im pelling' the month and moot-inlay wheels alternately, andautomatio means actuated by the rotation ofthe said month and month-f day, wheels, for shifting seid members. I a

7. An ntonlatie calendar comprising a. a'eek-dayii'heel, a. month-wheel and a men thday wheel, shiftahle driving members for impelling the. month and month-day wheels alternately, a snoplemental month -dayv-wheeltively-connected with the month-wheel, said 7 planet-gean-l aving steam-groove engaging a 1 impelling member-connected with said dyiving members," and automatic means ectuated by the'retation of the said month and month-day wheels or shiftingsnid members.

in testimony whereof I have aflixed my 

